


Holiday Spirit

by Elektra Pendragon (elekdragon)



Category: Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: Holidays, M/M, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-31
Updated: 2005-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-16 03:19:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elekdragon/pseuds/Elektra%20Pendragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt and Stefan share their first Christmas season together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holiday Spirit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Red (Windiain)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Red+%28Windiain%29).



"Yeah, mom, I got it mom, don't worry mom, I won't let him freeze mom, bye mom!" Matt called out as he finally pulled the door shut. He stared at it a moment, expecting it to burst open and his mother's arms reach out and snatch them back like some twisted holiday horror movie. But she didn't, and with a final wave at the tiny faces pressed to the window, they escaped the Honeycutt home. They didn't stop until they were out of sight of the building.

Matt tried to hold back his laughter, but the wounded look Stefan gave him set him over the edge. The knit hat was low over his ears, with crooked tufts of black hair sticking out in odd patches. A scarf Matt was well familiar with wrapped around his neck several times, covering his chin and mouth. The coat was too big, dwarfing Stefan's broad shoulders in thick down. The zipper was broken, leaving the fat coat open to show off the double layer of sweatshirts beneath. The mittens were a bit over the top, donated by Matt's 12 year old brother Luke. The overall effect turned the small, powerful, sleek vampire into a bloated tick ready to pop.

Matt's side ached as he gasped for breath, but every time he looked over at his friend, he laughed all the harder.

"The least you could do is help me," Stefan's muffled voice said. He waved his arms again, unable to shake off the too-small mittens in order to unwrap the tightly wound scarf.

Stifling the giggles, Matt reached out and began to search for the end of the scarf in the multicolored knitted mess covering his face. "I told you to remember your jacket. She's very protective."

The end of the scarf slid out, and Matt started to unwrap Stefan's face. Once his mouth was clear, Stefan sucked in a deep breath. "I told her I wasn't cold."

Matt tugged and pulled until the scarf came completely away from Stefan's face. "She won't listen. I warned you. As far as she was concerned, you were a boy without a coat in the middle of winter. Every one of her Mom-Alarms went off at once. You're lucky she didn't make you put on long underwear."

Stefan gave a panicked glare, the mental image obviously too offensive to his tastes. Matt carefully hid his mouth, biting the thick leather of his gloves to keep from laughing again. Stefan removed the tiny mittens with his teeth, making sure not to tear them, before shoving them deep in the coat pockets. "Is she like this with all your friends?"

Matt smiled, nudging Stefan with his shoulder as they continued down the street. "Nah, just you. You're like another son. I think she's going to have Diane sew your name on one of the Christmas stockings." He kept his voice light, but when Stefan didn't make a sound, he stopped walking and turned his friend to face him. "What?" he asked simply.

Stefan kept his eyes down. "I don't deserve this."

"Stefan--" Matt started tiredly, but his friend shook his head.

"I don't mean... It's not that. It's..." Stefan looked up and down the street, glad that they stopped in the shadows of a snow-crested tree. He stepped close, until his chest was almost against Matt's coat. "Us," he finished in a near-whisper. "Do you think she knows?"

Matt held Stefan's shoulders and looked down into his eyes. "If she doesn't, then she isn't a very good mother."

"Matt, that's not nice," Stefan said seriously.

It struck Matt as funny, the angsty glare coupled with the ridiculous knit hat pulled down to his furrowed eyebrows. He laughed out loud. "I told you, you're part of the family. If she doesn't mother-hen you to death, the kids will." When Stefan didn't instantly lose his gloomy expression, Matt ghosted a kiss over his pouting lips. "Even if she doesn't KNOW-know, she knows, and she likes you enough to adopt you already. Just... don't worry about it." Matt playfully tugged the hat down over Stefan's eyes, just to smile at his ruffled dignity when he yanked the awful thing off his head. He apologized with another quick kiss before tugging Stefan back down the street. "C'mon, we're gonna be late."

Matt's house was only two streets away from the high school, and they arrived in time to stop a fight between Tyler and Dick. The rest of the team was already working on unloading the boxes of decorations from the back of Tyler's father's truck, so Matt and Stefan tucked in to help. It was a tradition at Robert E. Lee High for the football team to decorate the school grounds before finals week. It was supposed to be a secret, a surprise for the whole school, but everyone knew who did it. Tyler especially enjoyed gaining attention for announcing to everyone how his father was going to foot the bill.

It also helped to keep the pranksters on campus from tearing down the decorations before Christmas Break.

Amidst snowball fights and extension cord bondage, the team succeeded in stringing lights in all the trees and pressing snowflake cutouts on the windows. Matt started making a small snowman by the door, but once the guys caught on, the entire team pitched in to bring more snow. Soon the snowman was as tall as the door. Tyler tried to make the snowman very well endowed, but the icicle penis kept falling off, and eventually Stefan smashed it under his boot. The principal wouldn't have allowed it anyways, so Matt was able to keep it from developing into another fight.

The guys searched around, coming up with a torn glove for one of the branch arms, and another ice cycle for a nose. Dick climbed Tyler's back to reach up and stick a bunch of small twigs in the head for a spiky haircut. One of the junior varsity boys suggested using some of the extra big bulbs for eyes. Finally, Matt wrapped the extra long, extra thick scarf he'd rescued Stefan from around the Snowman's neck.

All together, it wasn't a bad job. Most of the guys broke off to Tyler's truck, liberating the case of beer he'd snuck in with the decorations. Stefan and Matt begged off, easily escaping the team once the heavy work was done. It had been nice to see Stefan interact with more people than just Matt and his family, but as the night went on he had grown more and more distant from the group. Matt was happy to spirit him away before the brooding returned.

They started walking back to Matt's house, their steps slow and scuffling on the icy walkways. The snow, which had been barely falling as they finished decorating, started to come down in fat flakes, softly pattering to the ground. The wind was still light, so they didn't hurry through the storm. Stefan, strangely, was the first to speak. "So, you guys do this every year?"

"Yeah. They'd been doing it for as long as I can remember. It's just some lights and stuff, but it makes finals go a little faster. I remember..." Matt trailed off with a laugh before going quiet again.

"What?" Stefan prompted.

Matt kicked at a mound of snow beside the walkway. "When I was little, dad would bundle us up and drive us around the neighborhoods to look at the lights. He'd always end at the school, coz it was close to where we lived. I'd be nearly asleep, but he'd drag us out to look at whatever was put up that year. He'd talk about when he was on the football team, the decorations were bigger and better." Matt's voice lowered with the last bit, obviously copying his father. "He'd say that about the team, too."

Stefan smiled. They continued walking in silence for another block, until they were almost back at Matt's house. Stefan felt around his pockets for the mittens. "Will your mom be angry about the scarf?"

Matt waved his hand, taking the tiny mittens away from Stefan before he could try to put them back on. "Nah. It's going to a good cause, and I can get it back before break. Anyways, they'll probably be asleep by now."

Matt was right. When he stuck his head in the door, the house was warm and dark, and the clock on the wall was easing past midnight. The Christmas tree was still on, the lights giving a warm glow to the living room. Matt ushered Stefan inside, helping him strip out of the coat and two sweatshirts. They added everything to the pile of winter clothes by the door. Stefan made motions to leave, but Matt gestured him over to the couch. Quietly, they sat on the sofa, facing the bright tree. Barely through the curtains could they make out the snow still falling outside.

The silence of the night continued as Matt edged closer to Stefan. The man's dark eyes sparkled in the lights as he watched the different patterns blink on and off. "I'm glad you're here," Matt whispered, keeping his voice low to not wake up the house.

Stefan looked sad, but he smiled as he reached down to take Matt's hand in his. His fingers were cold enough to make Matt shiver, so he wrapped both his hands around Stefan's and brought it to his mouth. Stefan watched as Matt breathed warmly on his skin, rubbing and finally kissing them to warm them. When their temperature matched, Stefan reached out to take Matt's cheek in his palm and pulled him into a kiss.

"I'm glad to be here," Stefan finally answered, whispering against Matt's mouth. "But I--"

"Not this year, Stefan," Matt cut him off, staring into his eyes seriously. "This year, you're mine. Even if I have to let my mom hen-peck you to death first." Matt covered Stefan's laugh with another kiss, pulling him down into the cushions.


End file.
